Portrait of a Woman
by DarylDixon'sgirl1985
Summary: Harry Potter paints the portrait of Minister of Magic Cho Chang after her divorce from her husband of ten months Cedric Diggory.


**Hey everyone. This story was brought to you by Health and Social Care Art Therapy assignment, Quidditch Training Camp, the Insane Prompt Challenge, and Herbology Hangout on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. For Health and Social Care Art Therapy assignment I wrote for task one which was write an Artist! AU. For Quidditch Training Camp I wrote for Burpees and the task was to write about someone in the occupation Minister of Magic (Does not have to be canon). For the Insane Prompt Challenge I wrote for prompt number 936. Color: Cornflower. For Herbology Hangout I wrote for the pairing of Harry/Cho. Warning for cheating on spouse. Word count is 1,492 words. I hope you all enjoy Portrait of a Woman.**

Being as famous an artist as he was, Harry Potter was surprised when his ex-girlfriend Cho Chang called him up out of the blue one day. It had been splashed all over the paper that Madam Minister, as people called her since her win over Hermione Granger last year, and her husband were calling it quits after ten months of marriage. No one was surprised when it came out that Cho had found Cedric in bed with another man. In fact Harry had already known the fling was happening before anyone else. But that's besides the point. The point was the fact that Cho Chang was calling him of all people.

"Harry." Cho's voice sounded like she was trying to put on a brave face. "I heard that you have a budding career in the art world. I was wondering if you'd be willing to paint my portrait for the Ministry?"

He felt his mouth go slack. He hadn't been expecting a job when he answered the phone to hear Cho's voice. He had been expecting to be asked to come and comfort her, which he would have done without hesitation. He'd still do anything for Cho, which is why his wife Ginny had left him and taken the children with her.

"Of course, Cho," he told her, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice. "I was sorry to hear about you and Cedric. It must have been very hard to find out the way you did."

"I should have seen it coming," Cho sniffled. "The signs were all there from before the moment I said 'I do' to Cedric. But he could have told me before I walked in on him and Viktor-bleeding-Krum of all people."

Harry hummed in understanding. He couldn't help but wonder if this could be his moment to insert himself back into Cho's life. Be her knight in shining armor. Lift her spirits back up and then ask her on a date that would end better than the one they'd gone on at Hogwarts.

"When should I come over to do that?" he asked, trying to sound professional and less like he was planning on trying to pick her up. "To do the portrait, that is."

"The sooner the better," Cho told him. "I've never really liked sitting still for very long for something like a portrait. School's one thing. School got me where I am today. A portrait in my mind is something frivolous. But what do I know? I'm just the Minister of Magic, after all."

"You know a lot more than I do," Harry told her, which made Cho chuckle. He enjoyed the sound of her laughter. The pealing tinkling sound was magic in his mind. "I will be there in a few minutes if you'd like?"

"That sounds good."

After hanging up with Cho, Harry raced around his apartment, gathering all his painting supplies, before putting his best, most professional outfit on—one that brought out the green of his eyes, which Cho had always found attractive. Once he was sure he was ready, he Flooed over to the address that Cho had given him. He found the room readied for the portrait to be painted in. A nice warm fire was blazing in the fireplace, a chair placed just so in front of it with a nice wooden table beside it. This setup screamed Cho Chang as loud as anything.

"You're here already, Harry." Cho's voice broke Harry from his survey of the room. "I wasn't expecting you to be here any time soon." She motioned for Harry to start setting up his easel and other painting supplies. "No, Cedric. I wasn't talking to you. Didn't you hear me say Harry?"

It was then that Harry realized she was on a cell phone. He'd never have suspected that Cho Chang knew how to use a cell phone, but then again she was probably adjusting to it for communication with the Muggle Prime Minister. Harry set up his paints as he watched Cho's tense shoulders as she talked to her ex-husband.

"Are you kidding me?" she screamed in exasperation. "It was an accident." She scoffed as she listened to some more of what Cedric was saying. "You can hold it right there. It wasn't an accident, Cedric. Unless you're trying to say you tripped and it accidentally landed in Viktor."

At this point Harry could Cedric's pleading voice begging for another chance. Pretending not to be listening to the bits of the conversation he could hear, Harry started to browse the books on the nearby shelf. He was just waiting on Cho now and he wasn't about to rush her through this conversation.

"—was a one time thing." Cedric's voice floated to Harry's ears.

"Did you tell Viktor that before you called me?" Cho snarked at him. "Because you both seemed to be very much enjoying yourselves when I walked in. It really didn't seem like an accident or a one time thing." There was the sound of sobbing and a muffled explanation. "No. Cedric, it's over, the proceedings are finalized. You made your choice and now you have to deal with that." With that, she hung up the phone.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked, watching Cho wipe under her eyes furiously. "We can postpone if you'd like?"

"I'm fine," Cho told him. "Let's get this done with."

Cho settled into the chair by the fireplace, putting herself into the strong position that most Ministers of Magic were in their portraits. She steeled herself, letting the conversation with Cedric slide right off her back.

"When you're ready, Harry," she told him.

Harry nodded as he began to do the shaping of the furniture and Cho herself. She was a very easy subject to paint because Harry found he could stare at her for hours on end without the whole portrait thing. The way her eyes looked the perfect cornflower blue when she smiled, even the pretend smile she was using at the moment, was beautiful to him. The way she held herself was perfect to Harry. As Harry put paint to canvas, he felt he was capturing every bit of Cho. All her personality. All of her pain. All of her fear and anxiety. Everything she'd ever been through in her life.

As the hours went by, Cho couldn't help but wonder why she'd ever left Harry. Harry never lied to her. They'd only been on one date, and that was after she and Cedric had broken up during fifth year. She'd found Cedric kissing Lee Jordan out on the Quidditch Pitch. But Cedric had talked her into taking him back by the time sixth year came around. She couldn't help but wonder if he was seeing anyone else on the side back then, too. It wouldn't surprise her if he had been.

"Do you want to take a break?" Harry asked. "Walk around for a little? Or do you want to keep going?"

"Let's just finish this," Cho told Harry.

"Your wish is my command."

Cho watched as Harry studiously applied a few more brushes of paint to the canvas, losing herself in the attention this wonderful man was giving her. Then her phone started ringing again.

"Do you want to answer that?" Harry asked.

Cho shook her head, watching as Harry's brows rose in concentration. That was one thing Cho loved about Harry: whether it be in his art or his other job at the Ministry, he was concentrating on how to do the best job. She loved that about him when they were dating and even now.

After a few more hours of painting, Harry motioned her over. "I just wanted to get your opinion before I did the enchantment to make the portrait move," he told her.

Cho looked over Harry's shoulder to find a stunning portrait of herself sitting before a roaring fire. She wondered if Harry had seen her like this since they'd been dating.

"It's stunning, Harry," Cho gasped out. "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome," Harry told her.

"What do I owe you?"

"For you, Madam Minister, the price is half of what I quoted."

Cho felt alarm rise in her. He wanted half of the quoted price for this beautiful piece of art. What was he thinking? "I insist on paying the full price," she told him. "After all, this is a masterpiece."

"Maybe instead of paying full price," Harry suggested, "you could pay half price and suggest me to all of your friends." He didn't want to be too pushy and say go on a date with him. But he also knew that good word of mouth meant more business for his side job.

"You have yourself a deal, Mr. Potter." Cho shook his hand. "Perhaps we can discuss a second portrait for my own home over a nice meal and some drinks?" And if she found herself slowly getting over the hurt that Cedric had caused, Cho Chang wouldn't be disappointed.

**I hope you all enjoyed Portrait of a Woman.**


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